To celebrate France reopening Notre Dame to visitors, here’s a 19th century poem honoring the cathedral.
Author Archives: Robin Bates
Notre Dame: Two Arms Raised in Prayer
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Notre Dame", "Staircase of Notre Dame", architecture, Daniel Gabriel Rossetti, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Notre Dame cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris, Théophile Gautier, Victor Hugo Comments closed
Wicked, a Parable for Our Time
“Wicked” (the movie) shows us Trump-type scapegoating while “Wicked” (the book) also provides insight into how and why people are drawn to his sadism.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "September 1 1939", Clarissa, Donald Trump, Frederick Karl, Gregory Maguire, Justine, Marquis de Sade, sadism, Samuel Richardson, scapegoating, W. H. Auden, Wicked Comments closed
Note to Trump: Time for Real Work
Marge Piercy’s “To Be of Use” should be a reminder to incoming politicians that the real work of governing is not a television reality show.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "To Be of Use", Biden administration, Election 2024, Marge Piercy Comments closed
Defeating Dragon Despair after Harris Loss
The insights of “Beowulf” into grieving can provide Democrats guidance for dealing with Harris’s loss.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Beowulf, Depression, Donald Trump, Election 2024, How Beowulf Cann Save America, Kamala Harris, violence Comments closed
Eliot’s Hollow Men and Trump’s Enablers
T.S. Eliot’s “Waste Land” does a good job of describing Trump’s Congressional enablers.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Hollow Men", Congressional Republicans, Donald Trump, GOP, T. S. Eliot Comments closed
Jo, Nell, Tiny Tim Needed Vaccines
Victorian lit is filled with scenes of children dying of diseases we now have cures for. Does Trumpism want to go back to those days?
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Birds' Christmas Carol, Bleak House, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Christmas Carol, disease, Jane Eyre, Jay Battacharya, Kate Wiggins, Mehmet Oz, Old Curiosity Shop, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Comments closed
When the Light Knocks on the Door
Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem “truth” dramatizes the conflict between disturbing hope and familiar darkness. Think of it as an Advent poem.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Light that came to lucille clifton", Advent, Gwendolyn Brooks, hope, John Donne, Lucille Clifton, T. S. Eliot, Truth, Waste Land Comments closed
My Childhood Love for Krauss/Sendak
Ruth Krauss’s children’s literature, often illustrated by Sendak, recognized and empowered me as a child.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Children, Children's lit, Crockett Johnson, Imagination, Maurice Sendak, Ruth Krauss Comments closed
All Which We Behold Is Full of Blessings
Think of Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” as a gratitude poem appropriate for Thanksgiving.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged gratitude, Nature, Thanksgiving, Tintern Abbey, William Wordsworth Comments closed
